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Example research essay topic: Living In Poverty Mass Communication - 2,298 words

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In Africa today, Theatre-for-Development (Tf D) is widely viewed as both an effective and appropriate medium for communicating development-orientated information at the grassroots level. Capable of functioning on multiple levels, theatre encompasses many types of learning ranging from the transmission of practical skills through to the advancing of political and social consciousness. As such, various styles of theatre are being used by both government and non-government agencies as a tool for tackling a multiplicity of development issues, including but not limited to literacy, health, family planning, agriculture, sanitation, human rights, environmental education, and the establishment of self-help projects and co-operatives (Baker, 1998; Laws, 1998). Two dominant ideological approaches exist regarding the use of theatre as a means of bringing about socio-economic advancement to those living in poverty. One perspective, adopted by the development alist school of institutional policymakers, sees Tf D as simply another instrument for communicating and executing development strategies amongst impoverished and illiterate populations.

The alternative approach, embraced by social activists, sees theatre incorporating participation as a means of empowering those living in poverty because it gives them the opportunity to critically analyse their own situation, and the self-awareness gained motivates them to take a proactive lead in the development process (Mlama, 1991; Dogbe, 2002). Using examples of Tf D practice, this essay will look at how these effective these different approaches at functioning as a means of message delivery and as a means of empowerment. There are a number of reasons why development theatre is an effective instrument for delivering new information. Until relatively recently the oral tradition dominated in Africa, information was carried in peoples consciousness and collective memory rather than in text, and recalled through performance. Forms including storytelling, dance, drama, masking, puppetry, singing and music have been used across the generations as a means of communicating ideas and values, as a way of teaching important behavioral lessons, and for passing down history (Bourgault, 2003).

As such, theatre which incorporates well-established cultural customs such as oral communication and social learning through performance mirror existing communication practices, uses skills that community members already possess and validates long-standing art forms (Abah, 1990). Tf D brings people together and creates an arena where a community can engage in discussion about issues and difficulties, whilst simultaneously providing an occasion for communal entertainment. Furthermore, the face-to-face dialogue element enables people to respond immediately to issues raised and involves everyone in problem solving discussions (Etherton, 1982; Mlama, 1991; Abah, 1998; Morrision, 2003). Theatre can also be more effective than other media forms at reaching people living rurally, who for reasons such as remoteness, poverty or illiteracy, are not well exposed to development messages conveyed through other mass communication channels (Morrision, 2003).

The importance of media as a means of transmitting development agendas to the masses has long been acknowledged by government and aid agencies. Film, television, the printed press and radio have all been incorporated into awareness raising campaigns throughout Africa with varying degrees of success. In the modernization approach, which focuses on the diffusion of innovation, these mediums have been favoured over theatre because of opinion that they are the best way to communicate with the largest amount of people in the quickest time (Musa, 1998). Some of these mass communication development drives, such as those on forestation, immunization or family planning, have made strong impacts without involving any participation from the target audience. However, many working in the field of development communication now believe that the transmission of information alone is not enough in most circumstances to elicit the level of consciousness crucial for peoples deep-rooted and enduring participation in development action (Mlama, 1991). This viewpoint is associated with a growing realisation that a major reason for the failure of previous development strategies is because the people most affected by policy implementation have been denied the opportunity to have a say in their own social, political and economic welfare.

Development communication has tended to be based on a one-way flow of policy diktats issued by state and development agencies designed to inform and persuade supposed beneficiaries of the advantages of adopting change. Such impersonal and alienating approaches marginalize long-standing indigenous forms of communication and imply that local people are unable to think critically about their own situation (Mlama, 1991; Musa, 1998. As Mlama states: Awareness also needs to be critical so as to enable people to assess and analyse the advantages and disadvantages of their participation in development programmes. The idea is for a person to plant a tree not because of a government decree but rather because of a clear understanding that planting the tree is a process of liberation from the forces behind deforestation and their impact on his well-being.

It is the absence of presence of this critical awareness which moves a person or a community to act one way or the other. (1991: 207) This alternative approach to Tf D emerged began emerging in the late 1960 s. Highly influential in developing this new perspective, which is based on genuine participation, self-reliance and conscientisation, is the work of renowned radical educationalist Paulo Freire (1972). He positioned education at the heart of a laboratory praxis which seeks to transform the social order, arguing that for genuine transformation to occur individuals need to gain a critical consciousness about themselves and their situation. This can only develop by undergoing a process of conscientisation which involves human beings developing self-awareness about their sociocultural reality and their ability to transform their own lives.

Participatory education can facilitate this new awareness of selfhood, thus enabling those who are marginalized to look critically at the contradictions within their social situation and through this process move beyond the fatalistic outlook which anchors people in their poverty and gain the motivation to genuinely transform society. While Freire demonstrated how literacy can play a central role in conscientising the working classes, the revolutionary dramatist Augusto Boal (1979) applied this notion to what he terms Forum Theatre, a form of radical drama that can be used as a means of empowerment by enabling people to comprehend the underlying causes of their problems. By treating people as subjects, not objects, of their circumstances Forum Theatre assists those who are oppressed in appropriating language, thus making it possible for them to articulate both their oppression and their liberation (Boal, 1979, cited by Okay, 1998). The experience of developing and acting out plays which confront daily manifestations of repression within a fictional framework gives people the opportunity to practice taking control of their lives by rehearsing for action in real life.

In this way an individual living in deprivation can become empowered by imagining a world in which they have greater control, which in turn helps them develop the confidence necessary to tackle social problems. Engendered through a greater sense of awareness and confidence, this self-reflexive experience can facilitate the transformation of an individuals self-perception and the perception of their surrounding, which can in turn have profound effects on both the individual and the host community. If members within a group come to recognise that they are part of the same social stratum and hold in common analogous life experiences and difficulties, this may result in a sense of collective belonging and cooperative action. This enhanced understanding can motivate and unite groups in seeking to bring about material improvements (Abah, 1998; Harding, 1998). In addition to the possibility of whole communities uniting to confront long-term problems, it can also lead to immediate results when those in authority feel pressurized to agree to performers public demands under the glare of the theatres metaphorical spotlight (Boal, 1979, cited by Bourgault).

Not all Tf D projects either strive for and / or succeed in achieving the level of empowerment described in the works of Freire and Boal. To measure the extent to which a Tf D project is engaged in message delivery or is functioning at a deeper level in facilitating empowerment, it is useful to see how Mda (1993) outlines the approach and impact of three levels of Tf D practice. The first, agitprop theatre, is a message-orientated and advisory. It is produced by professionals who address and respond to local issues, but it does not entail any audience participation.

As merely spectators of a finished spectacle, audience consciousness is raised only from the outside, and only regarding explicit development topics such as hygiene or family planning. Consequently any long-term impact is minimal. Moreover, although this theatre form has been found to have strong potential in rousing people to organise and challenge the status quo, it can also be appropriated for sloganeering and propaganda purposes. The next group that Mda identifies is participatory theatre, which is produced by and for the people with spectators (Mda, 1993: 50). This form of theatre, sometimes called the problem solving model, incorporates grassroots participation and the use of improvisation within the parameters of specific themes designated by experts who act as regulators over local participants. Mda states that this is the method generally favoured by develop mentalists (as opposed to theatre professionals) because it incorporates a two-way flow of communication rather than information just being passed from the top down.

While this form of theatre may function as an efficient supplementary educational tool on behalf of government and non-governmental agencies, Mda contends that the lack of grassroots control and scant explanation of the underlying macro-origins of problems means that participatory theatre results in only pseudo-conscientisation (Mda, 1993: 50) of the target group, and as such is ineffectual in generating solutions to the complex problems surrounding poverty and oppression (Lambert, 1982, cited by Mda, 1993). The most radical form of theatre, which also entails the greatest potential for transformation and empowerment, is what Mda terms theatre-for-conscientisation. All performance is produced by and for the people without spectators, as those who are initially spectators may become actors. Tf D practitioners act as catalysts, assisting the community in researching local concerns, analysing issues, and assisting in putting on the performance. Storylines are based on the real experiences of community members, improvisation is used throughout the performance and direction is never pre-planned. Consciousness is raised internally through group analysis of social reality and the nature of power relations which underlie poverty and other oppressive apparatus.

This form of Tf D is seen as empowering because it provides the means by which those living in poverty are able to develop a critical consciousness of their true situation, thus motivating them to become active participants in the development process. When catalysts withdraw participants may engage in continuing dialogue and long-term collective action, and this increasing local participation and control enables spectators first to become dramatic actor and then social actor. An aspect of theatre practice crucial to achieving theatre-for-conscientiasation is that all participants are invited to perform the stories and characters they have created themselves. By inviting spectators to act out their ideas, audience members become the makers and owners of the event, and it is through this process that the spectator is transformed into a performer. Harding (1998) explains that this level of participation gives people control over performance content and presentation, thus allowing them to engage in modes of behaviour and expression that would not otherwise be permissible in daily circumstances. It creates opportunities for the transgression of social, political, and spiritual boundaries, with individuals able to express personal concerns to their community that they would not otherwise be able.

The challenging of social norms and values outside of this protective fictionalized context can elicit serious penalties including social ostracization, physical punishment, or even death. Furthermore, the adopting of new identities through role play makes it clear to people that they have it within their own power to project out onto society a number of different identities (Okagbu, 1998; Harding, 2002). Harding (1998) cites an illustration of this transformation process which occurred in a Tf D workshop where young womens rights to enter into tertiary education were being explored. Some of the men in the community disagreed with the idea on the grounds that it is a waste of time for girls to attend school because they may become pregnant. The drama centred on the theme of a daughter who can no longer attend school because her father has decided to use money for school fees to set her brother up in business. The young woman playing the daughters role was from the village and had recently entered college.

Whilst in character she addressed her fictional parents (whilst her real parents and the village elders watched from the audience), giving an impassioned argument against the unjust practice of prohibiting women from entering further education. As her performance progressed it became difficult to demarcate between the feelings of the fictional character and those of the young woman portraying her. Thus the fictional context of the performance provided a unique public platform for the actress to express her frustrations and opinions about a real situation without being personally compromised. Furthermore those in the audience, including her parents, elders, and those who disagreed with womens education, were obligated to listen to the young woman and observe for ability to analyse the situation. The implementation of one form of Tf D over another is often an indication of the dominant development paradigm. When theatre was first used during colonial times native forms of performance were expropriated in aid of promoting the agendas of ruling administrations, and primarily involved the propagating of development solutions formulated by highly placed government officials geared towards modernization and promoting the advantages of adopting new Western methods and technology (Musa, 1998; Dogbe, 2002).

Sometimes called the propaganda model because it aims to impose the agenda of the ruling elite onto the masses, this type of Tf D is still being used to a lesser extent by African...


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Research essay sample on Living In Poverty Mass Communication

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